Cycling the Via de la Plata, Sevilla to Santiago de Compostela

My trtip the following year, 2008, when I cycled the length
of the Pyrenees, which was shorter but tougher trip.

The Via de la Plata is some 1000 kms long, and I took 12 days following the
route from Sevilla to Santiago in October 2006. By and large it was enjoyable
both as an experience and as a challenge. The only real downside was a glut
of 6 punctures around Salamanca, and a couple of days of real rain in Galicia.

I am a 61 year old, reasonably fit, male. Last time I was on a bicycle was
40 years ago as a student, so you could not call me an enthusiastic cyclist.
After two weeks pedaling my way up (yes, everything is up when you are on a
bike) the Via de la Plata, I was still 61, but an awful lot fitter.

To follow my route, click on any of the yellow buttons on the map, and that
will take you to a page on that days ride, ending at that location. The buttons
show where I spent each night. Towns are about 80 km apart, so 80 km a day is
a good target to set yourself. I did not stay in hostels, but treated myself
to good (I would say in fact very good) hotels. You will have a wide choice
of good hotels in the towns indicated (with the exception of El Real, the first
night north of Sevilla).

A typical days cycling on the Via de la
Plata works out something like this. What I never really understood in advance
was the net amount of ascending that would be necessary each day. My computer
showed a tad over 10,000 metres of assent required over the trip. When you consider
that Mount Everest is "only" 8,850 metres high, then you can grasp
that the cycling pilgrim between Seville and Santiago has to actually climb
the equivalent of more than Everest in 2 weeks. I would concede that I may have
increased the amount of climbing required by taking a route that was not just
following the N-630 all the way. The byways of central Spain have the advantage
of being charming and the disadvantage of being mountainous

Kilometers

Total assent

Time on road

Details of
the bike and equipment used

Why I made the pilgrimage

The Compostela

Day 1 Sevilla - Torre de la Reina

25 km

Day 2 Torre de la Reina - El Real

72 km

962 m

6.3 hours

Day 3 El Real - Zafra

66 km

1166 m

6.2 hours

Day 4 Zafra - Mérida

80 km

497 m

5.0 hours

Day 5 Mérida - Caceres

71 km

511 m

5.1 hours

Day 6 Caceres - Plasencia

82 km

617 m

5.5 hours

Day 7 Plasencia - Bejar

100 km

1280 m

8.0 hours

Day 8 Bejar - Salamanca

70 km

1033 m

6.2 hours

Day 9 Salamanca - Zamora

50 km *

730 m

4.0 hours

Day 10 Zamora - Puebla de Sanabria

78 km

825 m

5.0 hours

Day 11 Peubla de Sanabria - Verin

94 km

1282 m

5.5 hours

Day 12 Verin - Ourense

75 km

946 m

5.0 hours

Day 13 Ourense - Santiago

46 km *

266 m

3.0 hours

If you took longer you might have more time to explore the towns, but the very
nature of the towns is that they are around 80kms apart, so if you do less in
a day, then you are staying in hostels in the smaller towns and villages along
the way. The Via de la Plata route is not rich in hostels, indeed many places
are not rich in any forms of habitation, so my conclusion was and is, that you
should cycle the 80kms a day and hotels in the towns.

If you are really knackered then take a day off every so often. Its really
is not the distance in a day that is important, it is the amount of climbing.
If I got into top gear on the big cog, then I could zip along, both uphill and
downhill at a fair old rate, but once the climb got too steep for the top gear,
and I ended up climbing in the lowest gear, then speed drops down to 5km per
hour, and energy extended appears to increase exponentially.

Chris was on the trip with me, and we met up each
night. To do it completely by yourself from Seville to Santiago de Compostela
would be considerably more difficult. If I had a real problem, then I could
use the mobile to summon the cavalry

Philosophical question now is "would I do it again", obviously not
the same route, but another long distance cycle ride? Writing this a week after
finishing, I am not sure. When Steven Redgrave was half way through his career
he said "Anyone who sees me go anywhere near a boat again, ever, you've
got my permission to shoot me." But within months was back in a boat again.

I have proved to myself that I can do it, and I enjoyed the journey across
Spain. Perhaps if all the omens were right, then I might. Right now, I don't
know if I will stick to cycling round Moraira,
or plan another long distance adventure